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Only a generation ago, artificial intelligence (AI) was just a fantasy, something to be read about in science fiction stories. Today, AI is increasingly becoming a tool that we use in our daily lives. Although we don’t yet all have smart homes that clean themselves or cook dinner for us, the technology is fast becoming available. If you think about tools such as the Amazon Echo and Google’s Home, you can easily see how much AI has already begun to become embedded in our lives.

How Can Marketers Begin to Use AI as a Marketing Channel?

The internet introduced technology that makes it easy to search for any topic. Search engines such as Google are now the primary method that most people use to discover news, shop and learn about the world. However, this avenue of seeking information is broadening rapidly. We first saw the advantage of search engines using text as information. However, in the last several years, search has expanded to video (YouTube) and images (Pinterest and Instagram). Sites that promote video and image files have overtaken traditional search especially with the advent of mobile technology.

Mobile technology then added the ability to use voice controls to search with Apple’s Seri and Microsoft’s Cortana. Now, you can use Seri and Cortana on desktop and mobile devices.

The New Girl on the Block

The next step in search was taken by Amazon with the introduction of Echo and Alexa. When this happened, AI was able to enter our homes. This advance allows people to search using AI directly in conjunction with Amazon and other search channels.

Now marketers have a whole new channel to explore. It is clear that Alexa will continue to develop and connect with other search channels. In addition to video and text, marketers need to determine how audio files can reach their clients. What AI adds to audio technology is the interactive ability. Alexa generally answers commands and queries that are presented as we go about our daily lives. As the program learns more about you, it can better respond to your queries and commands. That’s AI in action!

Keywords

It is clear that keywords and customer personas become increasingly important as AI continues to develop. Knowing your current clients and prospects well will help you interact with AI users. In fact, the more intimate knowledge you have of your customers, the better you will be able to weed out poor prospects and qualify good ones.

New Technology

The iPhone X and Pixel 2 are soon to be available to customers with some AI features. We will continue to see these types of developments. Marketers who learn to take advantage of AI as another channel will find it to be a great way of reaching Millennials and later generations as they become adept at using AI as a resource for search. Personalization is very effective with AI. AI can also reinforce marketing seen on other channels including video and text. Current channels such as social media will also improve the ability to personalize marketing as AI is added.

There are many different types of marketing strategies you can use to promote and advertise your business. One of the most effective is content marketing. Content marketing isn’t a new concept but many people have questions about what it is and how it works.

The following questions are some of the most frequently asked.

What is content marketing? Content marketing uses quality content in the form of blogs, videos, graphics and other types of content to build a relationships with your target audience.

How well do you know your target audience? In order for your content to be effective, you must know as much as possible about the audience you are trying to connect with. Age, gender, lifestyle, and interests are only a few of the things you need to research.

How do you determine your target audience? In order for you to identify your target audience, you will need to learn as much as you can through analytics, statistics, and other research tools that are designed to help track the traffic that is drawn to your website.

What is your “brand voice”? The tone of your content will set your “voice”. Whether it be sarcastic, humorous, or witty, once it’s been established, continue to keep your voice consistent.

How do you know if your marketing strategy is working? There are several ways to determine whether or not your marketing strategy is working. Is your content generating new leads? Are you seeing an increased return on your investment? Ask new customers how they heard about your business. If it’s from your content or something you’ve done to generate new leads, then your strategy is working effectively.

What are the benefits of content marketing? Content serves two main purposes, to educate potential and current customers about something they are interested in and to intrigue them enough to follow through and actually purchase your product or service.

How do content marketing and social media differ? Content marketing encourages you to consume information and then act on what you’ve learned. Social media encourages the audience to participate in some way by engaging with another person or contacting the company directly. While both are effective, content marketing is more informative and relies more on the quality and integrity of the company.

How much content do you need to generate on a regular basis? If you plan on using content marketing, it’s extremely important to remain consistent. While blogs or videos don’t have to be large or extravagant, they should be posted regularly so that customers can make it a habit of returning at the same time each week or day to view your latest blog.

If you plan on using content marketing as part of your branding strategy, learn as much as you can. Research the benefits as well as the drawbacks so that you understand what content marketing is, and especially what it is not. Take the initiative and try your hand at creating your own unique content. Use your “voice” and allow it to speak for the company. Make it personable and share your company with the customers you are trying to attract.

We all know someone who suffers from Peter Pan Syndrome, even if it’s a celebrity, reality star or musician who refuses to grow up. Becoming self-aware and accepting responsibility for your own success is a coming of age that heralds you into adulthood, kicking and screaming at times. Now take what you know about the Peter Pan Syndrome and apply it to today’s content marketers. You might be surprised to find that there is a connection between the two in terms of how marketing departments evolve over time. Some are simply unable to mature, uneasy about accountability or unwilling to shift away from unsustainable marketing practices. What’s the story with your company?

As content marketers, we all know how important it is to stay on top of industry news, headlines and trends. We’re at the front line and it’s imperative that we remain current, but it’s not always possible to find time in our busy schedules. Therefore, here’s the Cliff’s Notes on some of the more interesting news in content marketing over the past few months.

If you’re new to content marketing, you’re probably coming to realize that getting a full, complete grasp of the concepts is somewhat complex. It’s not that the new world of advertising is difficult to understand; it’s just that there’s a lot to know. Content creation, sharing, distributing, reviewing analytics and content marketing software are just a few of the components that you’ll have to get used to as part of a comprehensive content marketing strategy. Plus, very few of the traditional marketing theories still apply in this realm so you can’t draw too much from prior experience.

Whether you’re getting your feet wet or maybe need a nice refresher course, here are a few laws of content marketing to always keep in mind.

So far, its been another banner year in content marketing. The numbers don’t lie with the overwhelming majority of marketers currently using content to drive business, in both the B2C and B2B arena. And with technology like content marketing software, it’s becoming easier to create, distribute and review analytics. But just because more companies have some sort of content marketing strategy in place, that doesn’t mean they’re doing it well. Here are eight big ideas to bring into your content marketing fold in the next few months.

1. Know your audience and what they want. Your prospects consume online content for a reason and you’ll only get their attention if you fit your material into that slot. Listen to what they’re saying on social media and determine what questions they have when searching for content. Resist the temptation to provide information on what you think they should know and, instead, give themwhat they want. You’re looking for page views, shares and interaction in the comments section, so be prepared to tweak your content as necessary.

2. Don’t try to do too much. You want to establish yourself as a thought leader, but that doesn’t mean you have to empty your brain in one blog post. Your content should be focused on your target prospects, but be broad enough to reach certain groups within that audience as well. Keep individual content pieces on topic to avoid diluting your message and causing confusion.

If you’ve been in content marketing for any length of time, you know how frustrating writer’s block can be. You know you need to get some new, innovative material out there, but your brain just isn’t cooperating. The phenomenon is quite common when you consider the fact that content marketers and creative types are distributing an enormous amount of material every day, with one goal in mind: attracting interest and engaging their audience. Your content marketing platform is great for automating the more routine tasks, but it has limitations when you’re trying to generate new traffic to your website.

The next time you’re stuck in a content creation rut, check out these ideas to breathe some new life into your marketing strategy.

1. Get your followers involved with interactive content.

Buzzfeed and Thrillist have proven success, demonstrating that interactive content can send tons of traffic from social medial to your site. We’re talking personality quizzes, top 10 lists, polls and the like. You don’t need a new content development team to create this type of content with the online tools available. If you have a content marketing platform, this is where it will really start paying off; if you don’t, now’s the time to invest.

It would be great to have a time machine that can propel content marketers into the future to see what the rest of 2015 holds for the industry, but we’ll probably be waiting awhile for such technology. Still, there is a symbolic crystal ball that can predict the trends that will be causing a buzz and warn us about others that will fizzle out before they gain momentum. Marketers need to be aware of what lies ahead to give us an idea of what to expect and tell us which strategies are more likely to deliver success. While we can’t make exact predictions about the coming months, we can at least gain some perspective to help with planning and strategy. It’s all about recognizing which prognostications show promise and distinguishing them from those that are bound to make an exit in just a few months.

As a content marketer, you can’t look forward without a detailed recap of the new developments, bright spots and cringe-worthy trends that occurred over the recent past. We’ve learned a lot, both from mistakes and from successes; we’ve also taken some risks that we wouldn’t have, as we’ve gained confidence by seeing others wander into uncharted territory. Studies conducted by top analysis groups on topics buzzing around the content marketing world in 2014 and the first half of 2015 can shed light on what we’ll be seeing next. Have a look at what the research is telling us.

1. A documented content marketing strategy is the only way to go.

If it’s done anything, content marketing research is cementing what the experts have been saying for awhile: No online marketing strategy will be effective unless it’s carefully documented. The proof is incontrovertible in every market sector and throughout the globe. And the “documented” part must certainly be taken literally, so write it down rather than just relying on some ideas you’ve tossed around with team members. A content marketing platform is the wise choice when figuring out the best way to document your strategy, and there’s a solution out there for pretty much any budget.

Considering the amount of time you spend developing blog topics, creating content and promoting your posts, you’re probably pretty satisfied with your efforts when you see that your material really resonates with your target audience. But popularity isn’t going to convert sales or pay your bills. You need to leverage the profitability of your blog in order to make sure it’s contributing to your bottom line. Focusing on your blog content ROI ensures that it benefits your company just as much as your readers. Here’s how to make those posts really count.

Cash in on your most profitable content centers.

While you can’t make all your content more visible, you can to increase the popularity of